A Modest Proposal: FUI-I PTruSIONS FOR AI-I AT AGE.70 | \7ith India cited as an example, a modest pro- effectively reduced his pension by a third. Through pay- I por"l has been made that colleagues i"ho elect.d to i"k ing out just t'wo-thirds of the full arnount permirted, he I à lu-, sum on retirement, and"thus to be satisfied with reèkons that the pension fund had by December 1993 ' ,.d,i..d pension, should be entitled to a full pension recovered the $73,451 that he had received as lump ']'âft"r l0 yèars. By that time, the U.N. Joint Staff sum. From that date to December 1997, according to I Pension Fïnd wouid have recovered what it disbursed his calculations, he has received $34,373less than what I i.r th. Iump sums, and thus should restore full pensions he would have had with a full pension. to them, i,rggests M.L. Sharma, formerly UNICEF, I has to the acid conclusion New Delhi. That led the newsleüer I that the "one-third option is a profit-making device, | "f believe there are a number of sovereign states for the pension fund," and especially in times of | (unnamed, unfortunately), including India, which, on preventivè medicine (uthich \l(/HO preache) good food retirement. let their employees commute up to one- ànd housing, all of which lead to longer lives. I ^fuli third and then restore pension after i0 to 12 I Despite the lament that "we become losers in L.r.r. It would be worthwhile for staff and former staff ârro.irtio.rs to pursue this point for consideration by cases wheie we had availed ourselves of the one-third | concern the part our the United Nations," h. ,"ÿ, in Link, the pensioneri' option," there is less on of I ÛNtCEf colleague with the pros and cons of the I newsletter for the UNICEF Pension Group, India. emphasis is placed, as I commutatio.r. RÏth.r, th. gr."tJ, I Retiring after 30 years of service, in December it should be, on the propoial he modestly puts forward I t9az, orr. .oÏI.^gue - in common with many others - - that all of ,r, *hô -ik. i, to our t.ràti.t should | .lected to take a one-third lump sum pry-.t t, which receive a full pension. I UBS: GoNE To 6(L" UBS, which took over SBS with pledges of being deleeates - to find. It is far from the centre. In addition, quarters is probably more friendly, has dropped long-standing,contractual linirig up in close,.lightless .very arrangements, imposed new charges, and, with the not.;s pleasant as in-the .open spec.e of the previous e"..piion of two money machines, Jhut down its offices environment even to collect per diem. in the main building, having gone no\M 1e "1"- 1[6 - short, tellers are now no longer available ânnex, that is. In rourinely to help fill out peyment or standing. orders, According to the serving staff's Spotlight (No. 13), or with'the tranifer of funds. Now a CHF 2 charge is the bank's main office in Zurich abolished what it char- made for withdrawals at the windows of less than CHF acterised as the "islands of privilege" of international 5,000. And so even though "advice" desks have been has, in general, become virtu- agencies (whicb QN's Wise OA Ott,l had long thought established, UBS banking of, innocently ds "customer courtesy') and introduced a allv do-it-vourself. throùeh bancomat and multimate monthly administrative fee. Not on all customers to be *ichines,'and less frienily. Small wonder is it that sure, juit on those with less than CHF 10,000 in ali there is a sense of nostalgia for the old ways. ,..o,r.rtr. Those with less will be hit for CHF 6 or, if a recent meeting of representatives of the staff, banking is done by e-mail, CHF 2 a month. No more At and the Admin., l"i, named is reported as statements mailed to homes though. UBS, ih.
\X/hile going to "L" may be a little trying for most serving and former staff, it is going, in all likelihood, to be somewhat hellish for visitors - guests, experts, FearuREs
SEXUALITY, SPIRITUALITY
hen I was married at the age of twenty- q rwo and relishing an active sex life, I *§i assumed that this was a pleasure that \ my middle-aged parents rarely, if ever, enjoyed. 'È Now, well past seventy, Rosalynn and I have learned to accommodate each other's desires more È accurately and generously, and have never had a more complete and enjoyable relationship. ill Studies at Duke Universiry confirm what we I_u have experienced: many men and women maintain hd(rtÉ ; sexual interest and activity as they grow older, I "Now the kids are and gone, I thought it even throughout their seventies. Masters and tltat groun might be a good time for us to h*ue sex." Johnsont research revealed that eighry-year-old men are perfectly capable of experiencing orgasm however: about 10 per cent of people with AIDS and can have frequent and enjoyable erections. In are senior citizens, mâny of whom never considered fact a. healthy man who has selÊconfidence and the need for practising safe sex at their advanced can enjoy satisÿing and In fact, medical specialists say that women ân accommodating mate ^ge. imaginative love play throughout life. past menopause are, for some reason, particularly vulnerable to HW infection. There is another fact that is quite sobering, Their ultimate objective is to improve one's abiliry he transcendent goal for a Christian is emula- particularly during onet later years. The slogan of tion of the life of Christ. A basic belief of sumo wrestlers is a summation of this philosophy: "To is that people are defined by the Judaism be great is to be equal to the task." abiliry to make an ethical choice based on a covenânt relationship with God. Supreme ideals for Moslems are I think that, regardless ofour culture, age, or even comprehension of the Koran, growth in self-awareness, personal handicaps, we can still strive for somethin and compatibiliry with the world around us. Confucius exceptional. Why not expand our sights instead emphasised contemplation, selÊrevelation, and good restricting our lives and accepting the lowest common living in every stage of existence, with selÊdiscipline denominator of a dormant existence? Faith, either in and beneficience to others as common aims. He taught God or in ourselves, will permit us to take a chance that in youth we must guard against lust, in middle on a new path, perhaps different from the one we now age against strife (aggressive acts to reach personal follow. It may be surprising where it leads. goals), and in old age avarice (clinging to what we Jimmy Carter, have, including life itselfl. The Japanese emphasise the 39th U.S. President- (1977-8L) tend to equate them with the seasons of the year and ExcnptedfromTheVirtues of Ageinp 1998. Tbe seasons of life, with each bringing its unique attractions. Balkntiie Pùblishing Group, New York. Price: $9.95 MovEo
The SHI offices are still on the 2nd floor but the box where you deposit health claims does not face the main lifts (elevators) as before. It is now located by a column at the right of the lifts as you get off, (at least uhen QNi \Yise Otd Otal hst loohed). The offices themselves are further down the corridor; its displacemenr are pârr of a grander move that held serving colleagues in thrall for days in July.
page 2 NEWS & VIEWS ..SILENCE, ACTIoN,,
As the commands rang out, cemeras rolled, catching the actor, Daniel Auteuil, strolling up to a shelf of \flHO pamphlets and stuffing them in a shopping bag. Extras, some in colourful garb, ostensibly representing staff and visitors, passed by each other while making believe that they were going about the business of health.
The French star was playing the role of the multiple-murderer Jean-Claude Roman, who in real life had played a role too - that of a medical doctor in \7-HO. Though he was not, he managed to fool his family and friends into believing otherwise for 18 years. He maintained the deception by cluttering his car and home with printed material bearing'WIIO's logo. The scene was filmed just outside the §7HO library in front of the Brazilian painting, as serving colleagues, ,*'r' the genuine kind, watched fascinated and pleased at the unusual workday. Autograph 'Amities" giuen by Daniel Auteuil Planned to be released around Spring 2002, the to Gilbert Padqt, INF movie is based on the book The Aduersary: A Tiue Story of Murder and Deception by Emmanuel Carrere. It is Though a victim of unwanted publicity in 1993, being made by Films Alain Sarde, produced by Jean- when the murderer had been wrongly identified in the Albert, directed by Nicole Garcia, and also stars Jacques press as a staff member, §trHO, with the blessing of Geraldine Pailhas as the wife, and Emanuelle Devos as the D-G, opened its doors to the film-makers this June the mistress. Bernard Fresson was responsible for some for scenes of this bizarre story to be shot inside and technicians truckloads equipment, which 40 plus of outside the building in effect, this time, welcoming journeyed from Paris for the three-day shoot. publicity. - WHO,S EOIFICE COTvTPLEX In the beginning, \7HO headquarters rÿvas, es spaces on the ground. Annex ? In addition, the cafeteria Jean Tschumi, the Swiss architect conceived it, just rwo is being extended, and its terrace too, financed by the blocks, pure and simple -- an oblong shaped secretariat caterer, Eurest, becoming eventually a "conservetory"- comprising 11 floors, with the cafeteria on the top, and too late for use this summer but in good time for a box-shaped chamber for the Executive Board. So it the next. was in May 1966 at our official opening. During the construction work, the Administrâtion But then through the years, even as the number announced, its get-tough parking poliry of "dcketing" of fixed-term and câreer staff dwindle, HQ, like Topsy will be suspended. in Uncle Tom's Cabin, just "growed" in the shapes Dates to remember of Annexes V X, L and M, while the cafeteria \ryas moved to its present location, somewhere infinitely The Executive Group has decided to holdAFSMI more down to earth. During the three years of this 2nd General Meeting at 13h30 on Tiresday, 30 Octo- Administration, prefab offices have been built in one of ber. Colleagues are asked to mark this date on their the pools (causing QNi \Yise Old Outl to wonder uthether calendars, and to make certain their dues are current to the architect has turned ouer in his graue), with more vote. Dues also cover costs of the QN. construction to come. .And that the next annual reception will be held In parking lot P-4,just beyond the main entrance, on Thursday, 6 December 2001, earlier than last years. a t\ /o-storey edifice will arise in October, cleverly More details to come. planned on stilts, so as not to lose the 100 parking page 3 LIFESTYLES HoNouRs Zbigniew Bankowski, §(zilliam Gunn, formerly chief of \MHOI emer- S-G Emeritus of the Council gency relief operations, has received a doctorate Honoris of International Organisations Causa from the University of Palermo, Italy, the §fHO '§ÿHO, of Medical Sciences, Collaborating Centre on Burns and Fire Disasters, which he now directs. He was cited for "exceptional Geneva, has been awarded his contributions to the sciences of disaster medicine and country's highest honour, the to the teaching and dissemination of humanitarian Cross of the Order of Polonia. medicines." It was bestowed upon Among his notable achievements were the crea- '§7HO him, at age 76, for achieve- tion of the Emergenry Health Kit, and the ments during a 37-year long compilation of the Dictionary of Disaster Medicine international career, first with and International Relief, both basic to the fight against "man-conceived §fHO from 1963 to 1975, and thereafter until 1999 what he calls disasters," which include crimes against humaniry that are accountable only as S-G, CIOMS, which is dedicated to assuring ethical before an international court of ,iustice. standards in research. The presentation was made on 1 The awards ceremony took place in the l4th March by Ambassador Krzystof Jakubowski of Polandt century Rectoral Hall in November 2000. That month U.N. Permanent Mission. also, he was elected first president of the International Born in '§?'arsaw, he is a graduate of his countÿs Associations for Humanitarian Medicine, established Medical Âcademy of Lublin. §7ith his wife, Eda, he is in 1999. It is the successor to the Brock Chisholm now, his friends sây, contending with the unscientific Memorial Tiust founded in 1984. Among members: and ethical challenges of grand-parenting in Geneva. D-G Emeritus, Halfclan Mahler, and two Nobel prize winners, Sir Joseph Rotblatt and Prof. Prof. L.Cavalli Sforza. (For detai ls consu b internet : htt? : //medb c. conq\
DRIvEN TO WRITE Since becoming a pensioner in 1997, Socrates outbreaks, ryphus in Litsios, formerly senior scientist with the programme 18th century England for the control of tropical disease in Geneva, took and the world's first '§7ord to his trusty 97 processor and to researching cholera pandemic in in New York and Paris, simply because, he told QN, the 19th century. Son he had been "driven more and more by the desire Steve, also a profes- to understand the historical roots of modern public sional artist, designed health." the bookt cover. The draft was sent for peer Last April, after 18 months of labour, he pub- review to Jack the lished a 250-page account, richly illustrated, of '§7'oodall, formerly origins and spread of contagious diseases from the times HST, now in Rio de of Hippocrates to Louis Pasteur, including "others who Janeiro, and others. lacked medical qualification but whose influence on medicine was considerable," he says. Among them, the The publisher is writer, Daniel Defoe, and the religious leader, Cotton Science and Humanities Press, Chesterfield, Missouri, Mather. U.S.A. Price: $24.95, 36 illustrations. It can be ordered throueh
Toma Strasser: "Albert" morale among former colleagues at lost his coffee partner when Toma \trHO, but found compensation in (Torn) Strasser, who was born on bools, writing, hunting for mush- 8 November 1922 in Sombor, rooms, and in his expanding family Yugoslavia, passed peacefully away -- now with three grandchildren. It on 9 March 2001 in Geneva, after was for them that he wrote six vol- resisting plasmocytoma (a blood can- umes of a personal memoire, which cer) for close to 1 5 years. included a history of the Strasser family and oLes écrits de mon père,» During the Nazi occupation the notes of his father, a general prac- of his country he escaped from an titioner, which he translated from internment camp join in 1944 to Hungarian. He finished the last of the army. Earlier, in 1940, he had these (oCes objets qui nous parlentr) matriculated at Belgrade Universiry League and was its Secretary General only in January this year. I am in 1940, and so, at the end of until 1995; he was also Secretary greâdy honoured and deeply moved 'Vorld \Var II, he resumed studies General of the International Green that he dedicated these precious there, obtaining his M.D. in 1950, Cross from 1985 to 1995 .In addi- writings to my wife and myself. his Ph.D. in 1960, and becoming tion, he served frequently as a'WIIO a professor of medicin e frorn 1963 Vhile a serving staff member, temporary adviser, and was, as well, rc 1969 specialising in cardiology. he was not above the fray in stafl professor at the Institute of Social He then joined §fHO as Medical mânâgement relations, serving on and Preventive Medicine, Geneva Officer in the cardiovascular unit, many a committee, and speaking Universiry and full professor at Novi where he organised studies in such eloquently on behalf of colleagues Sad Universiry Yugoslavia. fields as communiry control of at the stafft annual meetings. After hypertension and rheumatic fever. Toma! quiet demeanour belied retirement, he began a column for I recommended him to replace me his capaciry for hard work, his gen- the Quarterly Neuts, beginning with as chief in L973, but for political erosiry and his firm character com- its first issue a decade ago. The reasons it was not to be. bined tolerance with an uncompro- nHealth Corneo now is silent. 1ü7ho mising spirit. He was much sad- will take care of "Albert?" Retirement from \MHO in dened at the undemocratic turn of ZÀenek Feffar 1982 in no \May limited his activi- - political events in Yugoslavia, and (former Chief CVD, 1959-1972) .ties. In 1983, with Franz Gross, he '§ÿ'orld also at what he saw as the declining Pragu e, Cze c lt os loua h ia unded the Hypertension
zuP (since tlre last announcement) ARGELLIES, Jean-Louis R. 01 .07.99 LINDQUIST, Anna-Lisa 02.09.00 BALSAMELLO, R. 07.11.00 MCCHRISTIE, Alfred E. 26.10.00 CAPPER, Karen Y. 22.12.00 MERCIER, Antoinette 29.01.01 CHASLES, Pierre 09.06.93 MITROO, J. 20.09.000 CHOUMARA, Roger 05.09.00 MOUMBEIA, Dominique 25.10.00 CHUKE, Paul Okwudili 29.09.00 NAIR, IGishnan PK. 18.09.00 DELUERMOZ, Roger 09.06.01 PARTFIASARAIHY, Nadirpuran 10.09.00 DHIR, Sukhdev Chand 25.10.00 zuSODA, Amal Kumar 09.05.00 FAzuD, Mohyeddin E. 02.10.00 SALEEB, Alfred R. 14.11.00 GUALIAR IATORRE, Maria (no certificate) SUZUKI, Tâkeshi 12.10.00 }JAZZARD, A. 11.01.00 VARANGOT, Pauline Y.A. 22.09.00 JOTHI, Katnam 28.09.00 VELJOVIC, FGenua 03.11.00 KARDAS, Besude 17.02.00 §7OUDENBERG, Antoine P. 17.10.00 KORPAL' Kala vati 11'10'00 by Rosemary Bellfrom the AAFI] KUPKA, Karel 26.05.01 AFICS-cornpiled Bullet'in anl otber rouirrr.
page 5 Joseph Hazbun: Only a \XT-IO, offices would empqF as col- few days before his death on 12 leagues gravitated towards him to May 2001, Joe told me in sur- greet and be greeted by him. prising detail about 4l-year his A true humanitarian, he saw career with \ü[FIO Syria in 1958, a straight line between the need where began; -four years later, it and the action. He railed against 1962, in Khartoum, Sudan; then bureaucrats and when they, or poli- 1967,Phnom Penh, fol- Cambodia; tics, got in the way he would declare lowed by Vientiane, Laos, in 1973 simply "I will write to the U.N. the Solomon Island, where he spent Secretary-GenerâI" or, when par- years; more ten and Vanuatu, five ticularly outraged, "I'll go and break yeers. their legs." Joe never lost his enthu- In 1990, he came to Geneva to siasm for the humanitarian câuse, work with what is today called EHA and right to the end, even after four (Emergency Humanitarian Action), Tiuly a man for all seasons, decades of service, his freshness and he was a Christian, an Arab and a focussing on Africa and the Middle enthusiâsm were still infecdous. Palestinian of nationality. East, especially on his beloved Jordanian the and confidence Our prayers are with his fam- Palestine. Retiring inJune 1996, he He had trust peoples of different races and ily, with Bertha, Tony, Eileen and prompdy came back for four years of creeds; his friendships knew no reli- Celine. without recompense to concentrate Brendan gious barriers. was the qualiry on the Palestine SelÊRule areas and Joy (Chief- Accounts,V/Ho to others. He was reli- ) the U.N. programme for Iraq. He he conveyed able, utterly incorrupt- once told me thât he received far painstaking, Excerpted and editedfrom bis ible, and he had the great uncom- more from the people he served in *hgl deliaered at tbe Jobn )Ailil common sense. After developing countries than he could mon gift of Cmtre, Geneaa, 18 May 2001. his retirement, whenever he visited ever dream of giving them.
Rodolphe Lucien Coigney: camp, died on 6 June 2001 in New sent to work with the Relief and a French resistance hero who near York, aged 89. Rehabilitation Agenry, which was '§ÿ'ar the end of '§7orld II helped set up to help the victims of Nazi Rudi was a medical adviser to persuade Heinrich HimmleS the SS occupation. Later, he headed the General Charles de Gaullet wartime chief, to release Frenchwomen held §7HO liaison office in New York. headquarters in London and was in the Ravensbrueck concentrâtion (N.Y Times, 23-24 June 2001)
IN rHe House Y A FInsT: THE S.G AT WHO ln a related resolution delegates urged \fHO to "stimulate the development of drugs for diseases whose Last May for the first time ever, the U.N. burden lies predominantly in poor countnes." Secretary-General (who was once a \7HO staf[er and who has now been elected to his second term) addressed In a resolution on tobacco, delegates called upon the '§ÿ'orld Health Assembly. In an AlDS-focused countries "to be awâre of affiliations berween the speech, Kofi Annan outlined the structure of a multi- tobacco industry and members of their delegations." AIDS and Health Fund to fight billion dollar Global The D-G, in commenting on contributions to HIV/AIDS and "other infectious diseases that blight the regular budget, said that "assessed contributions the prospects for many developing countries starting - during the next biennium do not fully cover our regular with TB and budget so I am heartened by the obvious willingness In response, the Assembly, comprising delegates of many Member States to contribute generously to from 181 countries, adopted a resolution calling on miscellaneous income. In this way, they will ensure that \fHO to "take an active part in the development the funds available for spending cover both the budget and establishment of a global HIV/AIDS and health and the additions we need for priorities." fund and to maintain close collaboration with the (Excerptedfom release 1tr4A 22 May 2001) international communiry and the private sector..." 54/6,
page 6 CUuMMIen & CnuMMIER African trypanosomiasis, better known as sleeping sick- ness, mainly for production of pentamidine, melarso- " Conflict of interesl' . Those three little words prol and effornithine, the drugs needed. In addition, cited so frequently by LEG in times past to reject dona- Bristol-Myers Squibb agreed to fund the cost of bulk tions from commercial sources, much to the chagrin material needed for the production of 60,000 vials, of financially-stricken programme managers, are now approximately a yeart supply, of effornithine. passé. Again in May, Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceutical Today, the operating phrase is, very definitely, giant, agreed to provide Coartem at cost (10 cents a "mutual interest" as'§7HO and the private sector team tablet), to countries where the malaria-carrying parasite up to fight communicable diseases. The following are has developed resistance to chloroquine. This new drug, examples of the new palship so far this year in AIDS, which combines Chinese herb derivatives, is reported sleeping sickness, malaria and tuberculosis. by \7HO to have shown cure rates of 95 per cent. In Pfizer offered fluconazole free to least ' June, o In March the Bill & Melinda Gates Founda- developed countries. The drug is used to treat fungal tion announced a $t0 million contribution to develop brain infections and esophageal candidiasis, common ne\M tests for the diagnosis of TB. âmong AIDS sufferers. And in the same month, GlaxoSmithKline signed Also in June, Credit Suisse and its subsidiary an agreement to develop a new treatment for malaria '§Tinterthur' made the first corporâte pledge to the "war called IAPDAB which is a combination of rwo enti- chest" against AIDS that was recently created by the malarial compounds United Nations and the G-8 countries. (Excerpted fom Statements, WHO/10 and I1; ' In May, Aventis Pharma AG pledged $25 Pras ReleaseVHO/23,26, l0 and 15) I over five years to support the fight against
LETTERS
(Unhss stated to tlte contrar! by correspondants, hners receiued are roatineb considaed, and edited, for publication to encourage an excbange of uieus atnong colhagues.- Editor)
WnsnING ITS HANDS: ILO & UNJSPF
(Re: The ILO TiibunalDismisses, QN 42, Autumn they were addressed. Alas, the Fundt magisterial silence remains unbroken. It does indeed seem odd ro rrear â clientt letters to a de non-receuoir in the manner of a That the ILO Tiibunal washed its hands of this fin \ÿhite Russian prince faced with a dun. sad case Çudgement 1940, re Sokolou) which has cost a §fHO colleague his pension, is reminiscent of earlier There had been a delay in sending my monrhly Soviet jurisprudence. The ILO's reticence may well remittance, followed by the right sum being senr to rhe be based on the realisation that tÿng this case would wrong bank but without any payment instructions; all involve the examination of the whole financial industry this was making me uneâsy. Luckily for me AFSM of the U.N. Joint Staff Pension Fund, which might picked up the ball. Its Vice-Chairman, Roger Fonrana, well reveal anomalies and ambiguities enough to make walked into the Fundt Geneva office where their a jurist h"ppy for months. helpful local representative gave their computer a shake. Out came all the information needed. seems odd So far as the UNJSPF is concerned, there is a lack It that no one at N.Y. Headquarrers had thought of communication berween itself and us, the pensioners, of doing can only conclude that tasks that would not be tolerated elsewhere. Since the end this. I they had loftier than thinking about their customers. of last year I wrote New York four letters, addressing Kenneth the last to its new Secretary, together with copies of my Sinclair-Loutit - (formerly previous letters, in French, naively thinking that this EMRO) would lead to them being read at the level to which Rabat, Morocco (Excerpted lr editedfrom text dated i0 March 2001) page 7 WHAT,S IN HIS NAME? PUENTY institute ofTêhran was discussing my name. In July 1956 | was a member of an advisory team the malaria '§ÿe for malaria eradication assigned to Iran. decided to Even in the streets of Têhran, I was often recognised as stây at Têhrans Park Hotel temporarily until we could the person with the unusual name. find less expensive lodgings. A year later the story followed me to Tâiwan me about At the desk, an Iranian woman told me to register and the Philippines where colleagues asked in starting from my first name. As I began writing "Kyr- it. I do not know how it \À/ent so far so quickly write ia-cos", I observed that her face changed completely and those days, which was long before e-mail. I share with became reddish. Not understanding, I did not react at about it now as a humorous moment to that particular moment. The next day the Director of my colleagues. Kyriacos Thymakis the Iranian malaria service told me that my name meânt - the reproductive organs, male and female, in the Farsi (formerly EURO, SEARO) language. No wonder my rypist refused to tyPe it until Athens, Greece expressly ordered to do so. Soon, almost everybody in (Excerpted and edited fom text dated 1l April 2001) A PnlcrtcAL PnoPosAL (Re: Of Mernbers Ù Duel QN43' lYinter 2001) I believe that the problem of payment of dues (A spl"endid suggestion for neu., retirees, hou,eua, could be met, at least in large part, through better pensioners can abo sutitcb to Life Membership utiÿ a -certain information and advice to retiring staff members. The ltroportion of dues already paid' deducted from letter they receive during the pre-retirement briefing the CHF 250 life fee. h roould abo saue tbem tbe should be modified to emphasise the advantage of botber of remining CIHF 20 eaclt Tear and the Hon. making a life contribution of CHF 250 for Life Treas urer s o rne b o o b - h e eP ing. Membirship to AFSM, which at the time of terminal information, at the ILO thefees are bigher payments will not be felt punishing. Jurtfor -for lrf, rnembership, CHF 300, andfor annual, CHF Tiansferring yearly dues at high cost simply does 50. Abbougb A-\SM\ ouerall finances rem.ain sound, not arise when this is done, not to mention the ute experienced our first operating loss in 1999, uhen advantage to the Association if a relatively sizeable dues colhcted totalhd some CIHF 8,600 hss than the capital can then produce some inrererl preuious year. -Editor) *,"r"1 Fewe (formerly C bief' CRC, If/H O) Eclteneuex, France Iru PNEISE OF ALL . the fascinating article "Big (Ra QN42, Autumn 2000) Nedd §ÿillard for Tobacco Infiltrates'§7-HO" How long is the rePort? I would like to thank: Can it be printed in the next QNi How can we . Roberto Masironi for his letter of 11 January in get a copy? reply to my question concerning the investments of our Tom Strasser for his articles and the cartoons fund which reassured me and my friends. ' pension which make us laugh at the same time as being o Peter Ozorio for the excellent Ql/ which I instructive. A good laugh, it is said, is good for one's read with interest both in French and in English. It health! wes a idea to publish my letter and your reply. Gabrie[Ie,4" Farah good - In that wey you have replied to all of us who were (formerly EURO) worried at the idea that our fund had investments in HelleruP, Denmark the tobacco industry. (The report is 240 ?ages hng and tberefore Those responsible for the U.N. Pension Fund beyond QN\ capabilities. It utould be auailable and the Danish health workers who took the necessary tbrouÿ rVHOi publication ffice. Recommendcd is the action by liquidating the tobacco investments following U.S, film "Tbe Insider' uthich shouls hout confidcntial protests from doctors, midwives and nurses. docurnents of indu.sty utere madc public -Editor) page I IN THE PRESS TNE D.G: 3 YEARS LATER \ÿhen \fHOt D-G, Gro Harlem Brundtland took over three years ago, the sweeping of new brooms was promised. She had some experience in government. She was Prime Minister of Norway on three occasions. That was seen as being in her favour, but now some people are having second thoughts. In an organisation '§ÿ'HO, as protean as the her executive instincts may have gone too far. She is running \ÿ'HO, as one observer put it, as if she were still a prime mini.ster, insulated by a close-knit cabinet of advisers who try to muzzle internal dissent in order to stick to a strong parry line. That is a view echoed by several member states. Brazil and South Africa, for example, have expressed frustration at what they see as initiatives issued by the -f\WHO's top brass without discussion with the countries I r,rppot.d to implement them. I I She has shaken up the \fHO headquarters and I put more than half the staff on short-term contracts. organisations, such as Health Action International in I Her reform has been successful at reining in the Po\À/er- the Netherlands, worry about the opposite phenom- I ful and largely independent units that once flourished enon: coysing up to industry rather than bashing it. I within the headquerters. It has not, ho'\Mever, dealt They fret, in particular, about potential conflicts of I with the deeper problem of the six regional offices interest arising from the \7HO's overtures to drug I that are supposed to translate \trHO poliry into local companies to encourage them to lower their prices I action, but which have often followed courses at odds and improve access for people in the worldt Poorest I *ith the centre's. countries, and which have borne fruit. I I Her high-profile campaigns on malaria and tuber- On top of that, the D-G took a pasting last I culosis seem worthy enough. Some people close to year from some of her own experts, and from some | \7-HO argue, however, that they are just old wine in \fHO member states, over an attempt to rank the | .,.* bottles, and that apart from their snappy slogans, worldt health-care systems. These people felt that the I s,rch as "Rollback Malaria" and "Stop TB", they have exercise, which led to such curiosities as Morocco out- "little to show for themselves. It is a charge that the performing Australia, was deeply flawed. Since then, G vigorously denies. She points, for example, to further remonstration has led to this year's league table declines in the incidence of malaria in countries such being shelved. Ti.rrkey. as Today, the D-G has moved health, and the For the time being, her strategy is paying of[ \fHO, off the sidelines and into the centre of the not least in financial terms. Big donors such as global debate on development. AIDS, malaria and TB America and Britain are positive about the changes, and àr. ro* the stuff of G-8 summits, special sessions at the "extra-budgetarÿ' funding (the money that countries United Nations and if Kofi Annan, the U.N.t S-G has contribute for special projects) has increased by 40 per his way, of a $10 billion global health fund. cent since 1999. Howeveç \7HO is no longer the only global Her campaign against tobacco is genuinely novel. body involved in public health, nor is it the best This new direction brings new critics, and also eccusa- endowed: the'§7orld Bank and the Gates Foundation tions that the \MHO is exceeding its remit. Tobacco have pretty deep pockets, and are muscling in on its companies have lambasted VHOI attempts to curb territory. Neveithtless, though many people find the smoking through the creation of an "International D-Gt brusque bedside manner hard to take, few deny Framework Convention on Tobacco control." This that her patient is in better condition than before she would set out principles and protocols to help countries câme. How long, and what shape, a full recovery tackle such issues as cigarette smuggling and advertis- will take is, like most prognoses, a matter of waiting irg. and seeing. On the other hand, some non-governmental (Excerpted fom the Economist, 20 Mal 2001) page 9 U.S. CoNTRIBUTION REOUCEO The U.S. government has won a reduction of its Faced with the refusal of developing countries, the budgetary contributions to \ÿHO despite a warning by D-G substituted a plan that will force \ÿHO to cover the D-G that some health progrâmmes could suffer as a the shortfall from miscellaneous funding accounts, and unexpected result. The deal, which'§7'ashington negotiated to Pay designed to cover currency fluctuations off the $2 billion in arrears to the U.N., called for a staff costs, and arrears. That includes unpaid Past dues reduction from 25 ro 22 per cent in U.S. dues. §7HO from countries such as the United States, which is presented the first test cese of whether the 3 per cent $n.q million in arrears. reduction would be applied to specialised agencies. She told delegates that the flat budget "will be The proposal to trim the U.S. share of §ÿHOt hard for us, and will limit our abiliry to address some $842.6 million, two-year budget by about $25 million of the newer imperatives that demand our attention." set off a fight âmong the 191 country members attend- Health egencr/ officials said some rich countries, such ing the recent'§(orld Health Assembly. Cuba, China as the Netherlands, pledged to try to increase voluntary and Pakistan spoke out against the proposal. Cuba, contributions to offset the shortfall. Elizabetü Olsen which holds the roteting presidenry of the Group of 77 - developing countries, argued that the cutback would (Int'l Herald Tiibune, 23 May 0l) require 52 of its members to cover the funding gap. MnxlNc Ir Fon Llre E.; Dubouloz, Geneviève; Ducret, Lise; Dupuy, From January 2000 to March 2OOl, a total of Duane, 56 colleagués took out Life Membership in AFSM, J.G.; according- to Esko Ahlroth, formerly User Support Escarnot, Jean-Pierre; and Tiailning, now the member of the Executive Flache, Stanislas; Fournier, Dorothea; Grouo resoo-nsible for our computerisation. Some Giannelli, Janet; Girardet, Elizabeth; Gulbinat, W'alter 'r...ri,ly H.; *... retired, he himself, -for instance, but others *... lo.rn-time members who switched from Hubert, Cecile M-J.; annual to life rfiembership, emong them, Stan Fla- Ingram, Antony; che, a former AFSM chairman, Roberto Masironi, Jordan, Elaine Margaret; Khan, Inayat; Koroltchouk, Tieasurer, and Inayat Khan, Annual Member. Valentine; Kreibich, Suzanne; LeBerre, Rene; Lucas, Patrice; 250 less a Fees for life membership are CHF Martin, Ingrid; Martinez, Lindsay Joan; Masironi, anttual dues already paid. portion of the CHF 20 Roberto ; McDonagh,'§ÿ'inifred; ône advantaee of ioinine for life is convenience. Niklaus, Monique E.; You dont hrri to ,Éi.rk dues, or be reminded Probst, Margrit K.; Puget, Gabrielle; "to,rt colleagues now to pey them each year. The happy Raposo, Alfred; Ray, Dev; Rialp, Asuncion; Robertson, without this worry: Hilda; Roed, Einar S.; Scheidegger, Germaine; Sletta, Bjorn; Slooff, Rudi; Louis; Ahlroth, Esko; Allaman, Carolyn; Allegrini, Spassov-Roux, Jacqueline; Stachura, Stanislawa J. ; Strauli, Anderson, Ron; Antonin, Thérèse; Roger; Bacallao, Mario; Benguerel, M.C.; Bennett, E.E; Boschi, Ten Ham, Martijn; Têrrasson-Cuénat, Anne-Marie; Ivo; Torrente de Maza, M.-T. ; Conway-Fell, Jill; Crockett, Herbert; Vienne, Liliane; Pierre R.; Demierre' Demolis, Chantal; Dausse, Janet; §[atson, Mary-Jane.
REUEMBER THE 8N Achnotaledgements: The Executiue Group Dear Colhagues, thanks those tpho haue made possible this issue, In tbe lnst issue (QN43 W'inter 2001),. tue ashed especially Peter Ozorio (Editor); Yues Beigbeder Nedd ltou to reply to six questiins in a QN readership surae!' Wlkrd and Rajindar Pal (Editorial Board); Dauid 'IS please do so you hiim't co*pleted the form as !et, Cohen (Chairman); Michel Fèure, Jean Leclercq ài* particularly-those outside the Geneaa area' - (French translations); John Bland (English); also .V(/'e cornrnents' uant, and utill be guided fo, -yru, Marianne King (Editorial Assistant), Layout by you need tbe let îu hro*. Say ubat you If form, Hump hrey Matth ey, G lasgottt. L;ib, but ,rr1roo2. The future of tbe neusletter may dEend on it. The opinions ofthe QN are those ofthe autltors, Yues Beigbeder, Rajindar Pal, Nedd' lYillard not necessarib üAFSM QN Editorial Board page 10